Different Kinds of Love
by Purr
Summary: Another FY/SM crossover. There is only one girl from another world. Is she going choose to be the Suzaku no miko, or the Seiryuu no miko?
1. Default Chapter

AN: I apologize for forcing you guys to read Haunted. I want to thank Whiteblayze2002 for being so blunt. Anyways, I know that I still haven't finished Promises yet, and I'm already starting another FY/SM story, but I can't help it. I have been playing around with this idea for a long time. Originally, I wanted to use it in Promises, but decided not to. So, I'm turning this into a Usagi/Suzaku seishi story. 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Prologue

I have to study. I have to pass the entrance exam. I have to show them that I'm not just a failure! The blonde girl thought as she tried to keep her eyes open. It was Friday night, almost the closing time for the National Library. The girl was sitting alone in a remote corner of the huge building, books and notes littered across the table in front of her, as Usagi struggled on after almost four hours of marathon studying.

Soft splatters were heard, as the rain started to drop from the darkening sky. The girl whimpered as a lightening flashed outside of the window, followed by a roar of thunder. Normally when it rained, she would be safely tucked away in her bed, hugging her stuffed bunny and drinking hot chocolate. But now, her house offered no more comfort, after the recent fight the girl had with her mother.

"Why do they always think that I'm a mess up? Usagi the baka, Usagi the failure. Are they so blinded by my appearance that they can't see the real me? Even okaa-san…" the blonde girl named Usagi thought back to earlier that day when she brought home another failed test. Her mother had locked her out, saying that she couldn't come home, unless she could pick up her act.

Having no choices left, Usagi had to come to the library. She could've gone to her friend Rei's temple, but ever since Mamoru broke up with her, the inners had grown studiedly colder towards her. And after the Starlights left, the Outers had moved to North America, where it was easier for both Haruka and Michiru to pursue their careers. They often called, but still, the blonde girl missed them. They were the only ones who truly understand her.

Sighing, Usagi stood up and stretched her aching muscles and decided to take a short break. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a coin, just enough for a juice. Gathering her stuff into her bag, the blonde girl made her way to the vending machine, ignoring the annoyed look the librarian gave her. It was after all, it was Friday afternoon, and the old lady would probably want to go home to her poodle and knitting.

Usagi swallowed down her frustration as she blindly trusted her coin into the slit on the machine. The coin missed the slit by one inch and fell on the floor, the sound echoing through the empty building. The bunny stomped her foot in anger, as tears threatened to spill. Why was everything against her? 

A roar and a shriek brought the girl's head up. It could've been her tears blocking her vision, but she could've sworn she saw a red phoenix and a blue dragon entwined together, as if locked in battle. Forgetting her money and juice, Usagi followed the trail of blue and red sparkles left by the two mystical animals. Her journey brought her to a secluded stair case. At the top of the stairs was a door.

"Important Documents Reference Room. Personnel only," Usagi read, having doubts about the whole encounter. Dismissing the whole thing as a hallucination for studying so long. The bunny would have turned back if she hadn't heard voices inside. Pausing slightly, she gently twisted the door knob, surprised that such an important room wasn't locked. Carefully walking inside, Usagi didn't know whether to be disappointed or happy that there were no dragons or phoenixes in the room.

A *thump* almost made Usagi jumped out of her skin. She quickly turned around, only to see a book lying on the ground. Reaching out attentively, she gingerly blew away the thick layer of dust covering the obviously old book: Shi Jin Tenchi Sho.

The Universe of the Four Gods a voice whispered in her mind.

As if an unknown force guided her hand, Usagi reached out and turned the first page.

"A girl from the legends will come when the first page of the book is turned. She alone shall decide the fate of this universe, when she chooses between becoming the Suzaku no miko or the Seiryuu no miko…" Usagi read out loud to herself, not shocked at how easily she understood the foreign words the story was written in. Intrigued by the story, Usagi was about to turn the page when a blue and red light engulfed her, drowning out her screams. When the bright lights died down, the girl and the book both disappeared. The only differences in the room was the glowing red feather and the shinny blue scale.

~*~*~*~

"CHARGE!!!"

"CHAEGE!!!"

Drums, human cries, and the sounds of metal meeting metal was heard as the two armies advanced towards each other. 

A masked blond man sat on top of his horse from a cliff, over looking the battle field below. He smirked as he saw that his men in blue had the upper hand over the army in red. Kutou was expanding again, and this time, the emperor had his sights on the lush farmlands of Konan. But to his surprise, the young emperor of Konan, what was his name again? Oh yeah Saihitei Seishuku, had put a very impressive resistance. This was only the first of many battles that would be fought at the border of the two countries.

The ground suddenly began to shake without warning as the sky darkened about the two fighting armies. The armoured blond man frowned as he tried to control his frightened horse. The soldiers' gasps around him made the blond turn his head up. A look of disbelieve settled on his face as he stared in shock. Men all across the battle field stopped fighting, and dropped to their knees in the red mud, at the holy sight in front of them. 

Out of the thundering clouds, emerged two giant animals. A dragon and a phoenix, striking at each other for what seemed to be a body suspended in the air between them that laced with power. As soon as they appeared, the beasts gods vanished again, leaving the naked body of a young girl falling towards the ground below.

Without any second thoughts, the armoured blond man spurred his horse forward, tramping on enemies and allies alike, as he raced to catch the unconscious girl. The girl dropped like an arrow, her golden hair flowing behind her like a silky cape, heading head first towards the horse the blond man was on. A blue symbol appeared on the man's forehead and the girl was wrapped in a blue shield, she slowly floated into the man's arms. The blond man turned away his eyes and wrapped his rich blue cloak around her nude body, before ridding away, giving the order to retreat to his army in blue.

~*~*~*~

"Sire!" 

The young emperor looked up from his scrolls at the dirty messenger in front of him. "Do you have news from the front?" Despite his young age, the emperor was determined to be good to his people, and protect them from evils such as Kutou.

"Yes Your Highness. The enemy army retreated from battle today. We were victorious!" The messenger reported in a proud voice.

Smiling, the emperor nodded, his duty to his country done.

"That's not all Your Majesty. Today, on the battle field, we had a holy sign from the gods," the messenger said, immediately catching the young emperor's attention again.

"The gods Suzaku and Seiryuu appeared over the battle field today. They too, seemed to be engaged in a battle. But the strange thing was, they seemed to be fighting for a girl."

"A girl you say?" the emperor looked up sharply. Could it be… "Did you capture her?"

"No sire. The general of the Kutou forces got to her before we could. Forgive us sire." The messenger bowed, a little frightened as he saw the excited light in the emperor's golden eyes. The emperor was a kind man, he ruled with a fair and just hand, but in the rare times when he was angry…

"You can leave now," the young emperor dismissed the messenger. Alone again, the beautiful young man pulled out a red scroll from his sleeve. "The girl from the legends. Could she be the one…?" 

AN: This is not another Nakago/Usagi story, no matter how tempting it is to make it into one. I want to make this into a strictly Suzaku seishi/Usagi story, and as you can see, I'm leaning towards Hotohori ^_~.


	2. Mysteries of the Past

AN: Sorry that I haven't update this story for so long. *sweat drop* I've been busy with Promises, as you all know. And I've been busy watching Kaikan Phrase... Sakuya, Yuki…. *drools*, another bishie wonderland. I'm planning to write another Nakago/Usagi story very soon. Probably sometime during Christmas vacation. I'm also planning to write a short story for Dani, this one is going to be a Chichiri/Usagi story, for all of her funny reviews involving her chibi Chichiri. *giggles*

Thanks to: **Chrys-Chan**, **Queen Celestia **(I already have a few ideas for the Chichiri/Usagi story, hope that you'll like it when it comes out), **Raven_chan**, **Blue Angel**( *blushes* thanks. *jumps up and down* another Naka/Usa and Hoto/Usa fan!), **Mei-chan**( I hope that things are going well with your anime club), **GoldenGoddess**( gomen, I already chose Hoto-chan, but like I said, I'll try a Chichiri/Usagi short story), **Ten'imuhmou** **Tenshi**, **Bluejello**, **Jade** **Diggory**, **Panda** **Babie**, **Teardrop**, **Chibi** **Michi**, **Akiko** **Joy** (I already have a Naka/Usa story if you like the pairing so much. *sweat drop* It's a shameless plug), **Luna**, **SenshiJupiter**, **chibi** **megami** **astraea** ( we all love Naka-chan, don't we?), ***~ Ivory-chan ~* **(wow, I can never function at night. Well except when there's an exam, and I have my secret coffee supply…), **Lady love**, **Usa-chan**, **Fleur de Lys **(glad that you like. Hoto-chan…*swoon* he has to be the one of the most beautiful bishies I've ever seen. Just out of curiosity, are you French?), **JLSCORPIO78**, **Tschubi-chan **( strange all these Hoto and Naka lovers. Don't worry about Promises. ^_^), **Tegasus**, **adb**, and **Aidenn** (you know, it's really weird, every time I have a new chapter or story out, you always seem to be the first one to review. Not that I'm complaining ^____^)

Disclaimer: Don't own anything. 

Chapter 1

The sound of sharpening metal woke up the sleeping girl.

"What? Where am I?" The blonde girl gingerly pushed herself up from the hard cot she was lying in. Dim light filtered through the coarse blue cloth, that was over head. Judging by the sounds around her, she was sleeping in a large tent in the middle of a army.

"Your are in my tent," a deep male voice answered from a dark corner. As the girl watched, the figure slowly rose from his seat, and walked towards her, the only thing visible was the pair of intensive blue eyes that were glued to her. 

Acting on instinct, the blonde girl pulled up the thin cover as the man reached out a large hand and traced the faintly glowing crescent moon on her forehead. 

"Who are you?" the question was whispered quietly by the man. But, even the thick night air couldn't disguise his tone of urgency and anxiety.

"My name is Usagi," the girl answered as she tried to back away. 

"You have the same name as her," the man said thoughtfully to himself. "Where are you from Usagi?"

"I...I..." a horrified expression crossed her face. Where was she from? Flashes of images appeared in her mind, but all of them were to blurry to distinguish anything. Usagi tried harder to remember, but all she accomplished to do was giving herself a terrible headache that threatened to tear apart her head. "I... don't remember..."

The man frowned. "You have to be her. You are almost identical in looks, and you also have the crescent moon mark."

"Who's she?"

"Do you want to hear a story?" 

Usagi looked up in surprise. Even though she hadn't known him for long, it wasn't hard to tell that he wasn't the type to tell bedtime stories to injured girls. Wordlessly she nodded, before settling into a comfortable position on the bed. The blond man sat next to her. This time, instead of feeling threatened, a familiar warmth washed over her at his presence.

"Years ago, there was a tribe called the Hin in Kutou. All the people in Hin had blonde hair and blue eyes, unlike the rest of the people in Kutou. There was a single mother who lived in the Hin tribe. No one knew who her husband was, or if she was married or not. How she got pregnant still reminded a mystery. There were rumours that the young mother was a virgin. At the age of sixteen, she gave birth to a baby boy. Five years later, to a baby girl.

"The young woman was treated with utmost respect of almost reverence by her people, because there was a prophecy made during the ancient times about a maiden giving birth to two babies that were destined to change the world. The two babies were not like any other children either. The boy who was named Nakago was born with a blue kokoro symbol on his forehead. He was said to be destined to be the seishi of the Seiryuu no miko. The girl, who was five years younger than him, was born with a crescent moon mark. She was treated like a little goddess, because it was said that she would be the one to decide the fate of the universe. Her name was Usagi, because of the two pig tails that she wore her hair in." 

The blonde girl could see the faint outline of his upturned lips in the darkness, before he continued. "The boy adored his sister. Even though the little girl was treated like a princess, and was spoiled by all the tribe's people, she grew to be caring and fun. No matter how hard the times were, she was always able to bring laugher and warmth to everyone around her. The two siblings were especially close. Every night, the little girl would not go to sleep, unless her aniki was there to hold her. And he was always there to protect her." The armoured man slowly reached out, and stroke the long golden strands of the girl on the bed.

"They were happy until it was the girl's sixth birthday. The whole town prepared a lavish celebration in the honor of their little angel's birth. Everyone brought their gifts to the young woman her daughter, and everyone was laughing and celebrating the joyful event until it was time to put the birthday girl to sleep. That night, Nakago was not allowed to sleep beside his sister, because she was forced to sleep alone in her bedroom as a big girl..." 

"What happened next?" Usagi asked softly, as the man stopped talking.

"The next morning, when the boy went to wake up his imouto, all he found was an empty room. His imouto had disappeared. No traces of the little girl was left, except for a broken bracelet, which was given to her by him as his present for her. The tribe searched everywhere, but they couldn't find where the little girl had gone. From that day on, the tribe became poorer. The crops failed, and the climate became drier. The young woman and her son was blamed for the girl's disappearance. They became the scapegoat for the Hin tribe's misfortunes.

"The next year, the Kutou army attacked the Hin tribe. Everyone was killed, except for the boy, who was taken to the emperor. There he grew into a man and learnt to become a seishi for the Seiryuu no miko when she arrives." The man paused to tilt Usagi's head up to face him.

"He waited for almost eight years for his miko to come, so he could ask her to wish back his sister. And finally, three days ago, his prayers were finally answered. A girl fell from the heavens. Knowing that she could be the Seiryuu no miko, the man saved the girl. But never in his wildest dreams, could he have guessed that the girl he saved was his long lost sister..." The man finished as he finally moved out of the darkness.

A gasp was heard from Usagi, as she remarked at his features, which were nearly identical to hers. On his forehead, a faint blue symbol glowed. Kokoro. Even though she didn't know the character, she was able to guess its meaning from the story he just told. Usagi reached out a shaking hand and traced the familiar blue eyes, where wetness was slowly gathering. Her own eyes began to water as a single tear dropped on to her finger resting on his finger. Another set of images flashed across her mind. This time, they were clear. The sapphire eyes widened as memories of a lovely young woman and a laughing little boy resurfaced in her mind. "a...aniki?" The endearment slipped from her lips shakily.

"Imouto," Nakago whispered, his happiness showed under the cold facade.

"Aniki!" With a cry, Usagi lunged herself into his waiting arms, tears finally started to fall freely as bits and pieces returned to her blank mind. "I remember now. I missed you so much when I was taken away. I tried so hard to find you, but it was so dark and I couldn't see anything. Then..." here the memories stopped. 

"Where have you been Usa-chan?"

"I...I don't remember," the girl in Nakago's arms frowned. "But I know for sure, that it was very different from this place. I can see blurred images of tall buildings, and people in different clothing, but that's all..."

"Don't worry about that now. All that matters is that you're back with me." The blond shogun hugged his imouto tighter. "I won't ever let anyone take you away, ever again. You've finally came home."

"Aniki?"

"Hai?"

"Where are we?" the bunny looked up, a little sheepishly.

"We are in the Kutou army."

"Why are we in the middle of an army?" Usagi asked confused.

"Because I..." the words were cut off when a soldier walked in.

"Sir! News from the emperor!" the soldier saluted before pulling a scroll from his cloak.

Sending a silent apology to his imouto, before his eyes hardened to the emotionless sapphires that his men was used to see. Quickly scanning the contents of the scroll, his mouth quirked up at the ends. So the old fool was mad that he retreated. It's a surprise that he even noticed. Handing the scroll back to the soldier, he said curtly. "Go and tell his highness that the battle was not lost. We've won beyond his wildest expectations. Tell his majesty that I will be arriving with the Seiryuu no miko shortly."

"Yes sir," the soldier bowed and left the tent, but not before leering at the blonde haired girl on Nakago's bed.

"Aniki?" Usagi asked as she pulled the covers higher, the stare that she got from the soldier chased away all of her new found confidence.

"What is it imouto?"

"Who's the Seiryuu no miko?" Usagi asked shakily, even though she already had an inkling of who the priestess might be.

Sighing, the blond haired man returned to his place beside the bunny. Taking up her hand, he slip onto the thin wrist, a crude bracelet made out of small wooden beads. "This was the bracelet that I made for you, for your birthday. I've kept it, hoping that one day, I could return it to you."

Feeling the tickle of the rough wood on her skin, Usagi lifted her wrist into the beam of moon light. The string of little beads was rough and plain, obviously made by a little child. "I remember. It was my favourite gift that night. But after you left, I was looking at the bracelet when it became very dark and cold…" New memories awakened by the jewellery. Usagi shivered as she remembered the sensations of the cool fog enveloping her senses.

"It was so quiet, I tried to call out to you, but no one answered. Then… there was someone next to me. A woman I think, with long hair. I was so scared, because the way her eyes glowed like ambers in the dark.

"She said that I would never be able to see you or okaa-san again. Because I was born in the wrong world. And that my destiny laid with another, who was in her world.

"I didn't understand what she meant, but when I asked her…" the blonde girl shook her head. "Why can't I remember what happened after?! She did something, I know it, but…"

The bunny didn't even know that she was crying, until gentle fingers brushed away the burning drops from her cheeks.

"Shh, it's okay. You're back with me again, and safe. That's all that matters. Your memories will come back, give it some time. As for that woman…" Nakago clutched his fists, anger and hatred shinning in his eyes. "If I ever seen her, she'll pay for ever taking you away!" Nakago quietly rocked his imouto, while her harsh sobs gradually softened into occasional hiccups.

"Don't disturb him!" A loud whisper said outside the tent, disturbing the two siblings from their quiet reunion. "Nakago-sama is busy right now." The man must have made some other lewd gesture, because the next moment, muffled laughter was heard.

"He's must having a VERY good time to ignore the army work." The second voice chuckled. "Whoever the girl is, she must be really good in bed to keep Nakago-sama from his work."

"I wonder if he'll be nice enough, and let us have a try at the girl, after he grows tired of her. After all, this is the first time that I've seen a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a very pretty one at that!"

Usagi froze in the shogun's arms as she heard the crude comments. Carefully pulling away from his imouto, Nakago pushed her back onto the bed and covered her with the thin blanket, before he slowly walked towards the door, his expression covered by the familiar expressionless mask.

"I bet that she's still a virgin."

"Yeah, but not anymore if Nakago-sama…" before the second man could finish his sentence, he was slammed into a wooden fence by a large ki blast. The smell of burnt flesh scented the air as the black corpse dropped to the ground. All the soldiers look up fear as they stared at their shogun, whose hand was still stretched out, and had a disgusted expression on his face.

"If I ever hear anyone spreading rumours about the Seiryuu no miko, that person will share the same fate as the one you just saw. Is that clear?" The shogun commanded in a cold sharp voice, penetrating a hole through soldiers' hearts.

"Hai!" All the men fell to their knees on the dirty ground.

"As for you…" Nakago looked down at the other man who degraded his imouto. "Take him away, and behead him."

"No! My lord, please. I did not mean it!" The unfortunate man pleaded, as he was dragged to the centre of the camp, where his screams of terror was cut off by the executioner's axe.

Satisfied with the bloodshed, the blond shogun gave one last chilling stare to the army, before retreating back to his tent.

He quietly walked back to the bed, where Usagi laid on her side, body tightly curled into a ball, eyes squeezed shut and hands covering her ears. Nakago sat down beside the shivering girl, and covered her hand with his. "I'm sorry that you that you had to see that Usa-chan. It's over now. No one will treat you with disrespect ever again."

"Demo…Did they really have to die like that?" the bunny whispered.

Nakago sighed. "That's how the world is Usa-chan. If I don't set an example, the others will continue to spread rumours, or worse, possible even try to hurt you. In this world, only the strongest will survive." 

The blond girl's eyes widened as she felt something being slipped into her hand. Bringing the cold metal to the dim light, it was a gold charm swinging on a thin red thread.

"Keep this on you all the time. It'll protect you, if any men try to take you by force. Rest well, imouto. Tomorrow, I'll start to teach you some basic self defence techniques. You need to know how to protect yourself, if ever I'm not there. We are heading back to the capital of Kutou in a week." the shogun pulled the cover up to her chin, before he dragged up a chair next to the bed, and tried to rest as comfortably as possible, while keeping an eye on his imouto.

~*~*~*~

"Any news from our spies in Kutou?" Saihitei asked his advisors kneeling before him.

Looking at each other nervously, one of the oldest members stepped forward. "Sire, our spies from the Kutou army reported that the girl who fell from the heavens, has been…"

"You have our permission to continue," the young emperor said in annoyance, patience wearing thin. He had to know. Would she be the one? The one to set him free from his gilded cage?

"Your majesty, the girl has been proclaimed as the Seiryuu no miko."

Silence. The beautiful young man closed his eyes. Why? Why did fate has to take away the one person that could've saved him. No. he could not except it. If he had to, he would fight to the end for her. Taking a deep breath to calm his raging heart, Saihitei said in a commanding voice. "Did you not tell me that when the girl fell from the heavens, both Suzaku and Seiryuu was seen fighting for her? That must mean her fate has not yet been determined . Before she summons Seiryuu, there might still be a chance for us to convince her to be the Suzaku no miko."

"That is true your highness, but the possibilities of going to Kutou and bring back the girl is highly unlikely," The old advisor said in panic. "It can lead to another war, your majesty. Please consider the consequences, and plus, we even have any evidences if she could be the Suzaku no…"

"Your majesty!" a guard ran into the room, sword drawn out. "There's an intruder!"  
  
"What's wrong?" The emperor yelled out, as the guards surrounded him, weapons drawn out, ready to attack if anything happened. 

"There was a monk at the gates. He demanded to speak to you. When we told him that a commoner like him couldn't just demand to see the emperor like that, he laughed and disappeared! He must be a sorcerer, sent by the Kutou emperor to assassinate your highness. "

"That's not nice, no da. I came all this way to see a fellow seishi, and all I get are false accusations and physical assaults no da." A strange man chided as he magically rose from the ground, right in front of the astonished palace guards.

Saihitei stared at the newcomer in shock. "Who are you? And how do you know that I'm a Suzaku seishi?"

The blue haired monk scratched the back of his head with his staff. "I'm also a Suzaku seishi no da. And I know you are a Suzaku seishi because when the Suzaku no miko fell from the heavens, I felt all the Suzaku seishi's ki being released."

A spark of hope burst in the emperor's lonely heart. "Wait… What did you say? The Suzaku no miko…"

AN: That's all for now. Have to get some sleep. Why can't cats hibernate? ^.^;;;


	3. War and Lust

AN: Hi ^_^! I want to cry!!! Sorry, but I just finished watching Yami no Matsuei, and poor Tsuzuki, and Muraki! I know Muraki is a bastard, but I still like him . Important announcement here, school is starting tomorrow. I won't have time to update any of my stories, since I made a deal with my parents, if I can get above 90% on all of my exams, they'll get me an DVD player. And they are going to confiscate the mouse when school starts, so I may be able to update a little on long weekends or during March break, but I'm still not sure. I'm sorry to all those people who are reading my stories. But I promise that I won't forget to write ^_^

Thanks to: **Eclipse_of_starz** , **Fleur de Lys **( Wow, I'm just the exact opposite, I hate the French, too many exceptions to memorize. ^_^ Well, Naka and Usa are both blond ^_^), **Usa-chan **(*blushes* now that I've updated, do you want Shugotenshi Hiiro back? Or can I keep him?), **JLSCORPIO78**, **Jade Diggory **(Hehe, you'll just have to wait and see ^_~), **aya_mikage2002**, **Akiko-chan** (I love it when Chichiri goes SD), **Tenshi** **Cat**, **Bunny Winner **(Love circle? Hum, it's kind of hard to do when Naka is Usa's brother O.o), **Aidenn-chan **( Let's see, I'm making Naka do a little more than just an over protective brother ^_~), **Blue Angel **(congratulations! You just got the whole story plot! -_-, I don't know if it's good or bad thing ^_~. You'll just have to wait and see what the sailor senshi are going to do, and sorry about not posting the new Naka/Usa fic, I'll try to have it out by March break ^.^;;), **Sue**, **Bluejello**, **Ivory-chan **( *blushes* Thanks, I don't know what to say ^_^. More Hoto/Usa moments? It'll be in the next chapter ^_^), **adb**, and **Dani** (well, here's the next chapter!)

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Chapter 2

"Usa-chan, remember what I told you," Nakago instructed, leading his imouto through the mazes of the Kutou palace. "When we see the Emperor, let me do all the talking, and don't do anything that will make him notice you."

The bunny nodded, eyes wide in awe as she looked around the lavish palace. She had seen pictures of grand places like this, in a thick book full of words and pictures, she remembered. 

Everyone, from servants to soldiers stopped their work to stare at the blonde girl walking by their shogun. Not only did the new girl have blonde hair and blue eyes, but she also bore a startling resemblance to Nakago. And her manners! No proper girl should gawk like that! But if Nakago-sama wasn't going to say anything, there was nothing that they could do either. In fact, to the surprise of all, the shogun was actually smiling as he watched the foreign girl.

"Nakago-sama," a servant girl bowed. "His highness will see you now."

The blond general nodded curtly to the servant, and gave his imouto's hand a gentle squeeze, before he led her into the throne room.

"Ah Nakago, you have the guts to crawl back after you got defeated by that Child who rules Konan?"

A gasp of anger was heard behind the Seiryuu seishi as Usagi felt a wave of anger swept through her. How dare the man speak to her nii-chan like that ? Her nii-chan put his life in danger fighting, and all he got was being called a coward. Before Nakago could stop her, Usagi stepped up from behind him, standing in all of her dangerous beauty. He cursed silently as the familiar lust shinned in the Emperor's eyes. The lecherous old man was known through out the four kingdoms for his harem, which was full of beautiful young girls, and sometimes even young boys. It was enough that he had to go through the humiliation, but he wasn't going to let his imouto be tainted either.

"Where did you find such a beauty Nakago? Is she one of the Han? You are forgiven for your crimes Nakago, for finding me this lovely girl," the Emperor announced in glee, racking his greedy eyes down usage's body. "Take her to the baths…"

"Your Majesty," the shogun's cold voice cut through his emperor's eagerness. "This girl is the Seiryuu no miko."

"What?!?!"

"It is true Your Highness. She fell from the heavens the day of the battle. Both Suzaku and Seiryuu appeared before the battle field, fighting for her. That's why I retreated that day Your Highness, to capture the miko who will protect Kutou. And that is also why Your Majesty will have to overlook your pleasures, for the miko must remain pure to be able to summon the Beast God."

"Is that true Nakago?"

"I assure you, Your Highness. Not only I, but everyone at the battle field saw the beast god Seiryuu descending from his heavenly palace with this girl," Nakago said smoothly, beckoning Usagi to come back to his side.

"Well, I guess there are no other choices then. She shall remain in your care from now on Nakago. Make a proclamation to the nation, tell the people that the Seiryuu no miko has been found." The emperor commanded, looking regretfully as his desired object was forbidden to him. "You are dismissed Nakago."

The shogun bowed and left, his imouto quickly followed, but not before giving the lecherous old man a chilling glare.

The emperor chuckled at the dirty look the miko threw him before she left. She should be an interesting collection to add to his harem. The emperor felt a rush of energy surging through his body as he thought about the blonde beauty. He hadn't felt this young in years, even since he got Nakago. Now, to think about it, the Seiryuu no miko did resemble his commander of his armies, but would she be as good as the blond man in bed? He licked his lips, "soon, after Seiryuu is summoned, you will be mine."

~*~*~*~

"Imouto, let me introduce you to some of your seishi," Nakago said, walking towards the quarters which were allotted to the celestial warriors. He had spent the last few years combing the country to search for the seishi, so that when the miko came, they could immediately summon Seiryuu.

"Nii-chan?" the blonde girl asked hesitantly, stopping in the empty hall. "Do I have to be the Seiryuu no miko?"

Slightly surprised, the shogun turned to stare at his imouto. "Why do you ask? Do you not want to be the miko? You will be granted unlimited power and wealth by the Emperor and Seiryuu." And you would also have to chance to avenge our okaa-san, he added silently to himself. He could never forget the shame he had to suffer through to survive, so he could live and find his lost imouto, and to get revenge for their mother and tribe.

"No. I feel as if I have no control over the things that are happening around me. I don't remember much, but I still can feel the pressure of my life being controlled by others. I think it is from before, in the other place. I felt so trapped, by the people around me, by the things going on, and by my own destiny," Usagi confessed softly, not daring to look up at her nii-chan.

"I see. I don't want to push you to be something you don't want to, but it's for your own safety."

"My safety?" the bunny looked up confused.

"If you refuse the position of the Seiryuu no miko, you automatically loose the protection granted to the chosen one. With my current power, not even I can save you if the Emperor should desire you. 

"Everyone and everything in this country belong to him, nothing is ever denied to him…except for the miko. Hundreds of young girls like yourself have been chosen for the Emperor's harem. Believe me, it is not a life I would chose for my imouto.

"There are ears everywhere, no one can be trusted. One wrong word, and it will be the end. I've seen girls in the Emperor's favour one day, and be executed the next. And girls who slowly wither away from their luxurious prison. I don't want to loose you like that Usa-chan," Nakago whispered, brushing back the bangs that covered her watery sapphire eyes.

"I'm sorry nii-chan," the bunny wrapped her arms around the shogun, sobbing into his chest. "I'm sorry that I'm so much trouble. Don't worry, I'll be the Seiryuu no miko, for you nii-chan."

"No imouto…for us, and for our okaa-san," the blonde young man whispered quietly, stroking the golden head resting against his armour.

"Stop those tears Usa. They don't suite you."

Usagi wiped the droplets from her cheeks, managing a shaky smile for her nii-chan.

"Be happy and proud Usa, for in this country, you are second to none. Not even the Emperor could order you. When you summon Seiryuu, you will be granted three wishes from the god. The wishes are for you to use anyway you want."

"Really? Can I wish that we will stay together forever?" The young girl cried out happily, eyes glowing with hope.

"Silly girl, do you really want to waste a wish like that ? Don't you already know that we will always be together now? No matter what happens?" Nakago chuckled. "Come now, I want to introduce you to someone. He's your age, so he be a better companion for you than me."

"No he won't! Why can't I just stay by your side? I don't need another companion." Usagi pouted.

"I would love to have you around imouto, but I'm also the commander of His Majesty's armies. I have a lot of work to do. Besides it will be good for you to make some new friends here, especially with someone your own age. You can practise all the sword moves I taught you on him."

Usagi giggled happily, and caressed the sword attached to her jewelled belt. On their way back to Kutou's capital, the filled their days with teaching Usagi how to use a sword. It was a light weapon, one which she would be able to handle easily, and would be the most efficient in a fight. Now she was a pretty good sword's woman, her strong point lies within her speed, not her strength. Even Nakago was surprised how quickly she mastered the techniques. 

Before they arrived at Kutou, Nakago had made a sword for his imouto himself. The handle was curved from a single piece of jade, in the shape of the head of a dragon. The blade itself was taken from the finest metal ore, a dragon was engraved on both sides of the shinning length, sapphires embedded at the tip for the eyes. He spent three weeks making this gift for her in secret, it wasn't easy to do, since Usagi insisted to stay by his side during most of his time. But he had managed to surprise her before they ended their journey. To see the delight shinning on her face was worth the sleepless nights when he worked alone on the sword.

"So what is he like?" Usagi asked curiously.

"I thought that you didn't want a companion Usa." Nakago chuckled at the pout on the bunny's face. " Like myself, he is also a Seiryuu seishi, sworn to protect the Seiryuu no miko." He finished ans opened the door at the end of the hall.

"Usagi-sama, meet Suboshi."

The blonde girl blanked in confusion when she heard her nii-chan address her with such formality, before she turned her gaze onto the kneeling figure in front of her.

"Usagi-sama, I am Suboshi, one of the seven seishi destined to serve you," the figure said lifting his head to look at his miko.

"Nii-chan…he's…he's only a boy!" The bunny gasped out in surprise as she realized that the boy Suboshi was just around her age.

"Don't worry Usagi-sama, he may be young, but when it comes to fighting, he is still much more experienced than you."

"Nii-chan! I can protect myself! And plus…"

"Sorry Usagi-sama, but I have to go talk to the Emperor about the war with Konan. I'll send a person to show you your new quarters later." Nakago interrupted his imouto before she could whine anymore. "I'm sure that you will get along with Suboshi just fine. And Suboshi, don't leave the miko's side, if I find that she's harmed in any way…"

The violet eyed young man swallowed nervously, nodding meekly to the shogun's back. Looking at his miko, Usagi gave him a mischievous wink, which immediately gave him a bad feeling.

"Ne Suboshi-kun, I'm bored," Usagi said, sighing.

"What do you want to do Usagi-sama?" the young seishi asked uneasily.

"Why don't we go to the city? There must be something that we can do there! And nii-chan just gave me a purse full of gold coins," the miko grinned maidenly, waving around the small leather bag, the coins clinkering inside.

"But Usagi-sama…"

"Just Usagi-chan or Usagi is fine Suboshi-kun, Usagi-sama makes me feel old!"

"Usa…Usagi-chan," Suboshi blushed a little, "it's not safe in the city. Nakago-sama will not be pleased if you are hurt."

"Don't worry so much Suboshi-kun. Leave nii-chan to me. Now let's go!" the miko said grabbing his hand.

"But…"

The bunny didn't allow him to finish as she practically dragged the poor boy away from the palace.

~*~*~*~

"Chichiri, are you sure that this is the only way?" the young emperor of Konan sighed.

"Yes Hotohori-sama. I've felt the presence of the other seishi when the miko appeared in our world, no da. But after Kutou took her, the Suzaku seishi' kis disappeared again. I only had time to find your majesty, no da. But the only way that we can find the other Suzaku seishi, is to first find out miko, the seishi will be drawn to her by their destiny, no da."

"I see. So there is no other way. It's just that Konan has always been a peaceful country. I don't want the people to suffer if something went wrong," a troubled look momentarily crossed the young emperor's beautiful face. "I will make the necessary preparations for the coming war right away. We can not fail."

"Hotohori-sama, we will not fail," the monk said, taking off his mask.

AN: *sweat drop* Sorry it was so short, and not enough action. This will be the last chapter in a long time ^.^;;; I hope that my brief retirement from writing will improve my work a little, so see you guys in March ^_^, or a little sooner if I have a long weekend, and my parents are nice enough to give me back the mouse ^_~. 


	4. Trouble at the Market

AN: Hi minna ^_^ This will the last chapter in a while ^^;; School's starting on Monday, so unless I can get my act together and write another chapter, this will be the last update until maybe Easter. Just to remind you in case you forgot, this is still a Hotohori/Usagi fic… I know it's my fault since Hoto-chan didn't play a big part in the previous chapters, but don't worry Hoto-chan, you're still my favourite Suzaku seishi ^_^ *squeezes her Hotohori plushie* And big hugs for Aidenn-chan for pre-reading this chapter ^_^

Thanks to: **Usa-chan **(Of course I missed you! How can I not?), **Moonlight and Starlight**, **Akiko-chan **(*giggles* you did review already, but it's always nice to get more reviews ^^;; And see, it's out by March ^_^), **Tenshi Cat**, **Kitty 116**, **Gakkuri Naishinnou** ( thanks ^_^ but I still think that I need to improve. It was really nice chatting with you ^_^ Hope that we can do it again next time), **Bunny Winner **(hehe… you might just find your love circle in this chapter), **LOVENURIKO** (sorry, this one is going to be a Hotohori/Usagi fic), **JLSCORPIO78** (I feel sorry for Suboshi too, and you'll see why), **Ivory-chan** (*hides behind Nakago* I'm so sorry! I know that I promised Hoto/Usa scenes, but they just didn't fit. But I swear that there'll be lots and lots of Hotohori/Usagi scenes in the next chapter! I already started writing it…and it'll be out by Easter… Forgive me?), **Blue Angel** (*giggles* but how dare you burn my Naka-kun?), **Fleur de Lys **(Happy birthday! *sweat drop* Sorry I don't know when you're birthday is, but I hope that I'm on time), **themoonmaiden** (romance starts next chapter, and yeap, Usagi is the Seiryuu no miko ^_^ *hugs moon maiden* thanks for being a such a great fan ^_^), **Darkrose** (thanks for telling me that the site had a problem ^_^), **Bunni** **V** (sorry, I didn't leave it, but it was cut off the by FF.net), **Aidenn-chan** ( little more than a brother? You'll see ^_^), and **Bluejello**

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Chapter 3

He cursed for the hundredth time that day. He cursed Seiryuu for making him a seishi, he cursed Nakago for ordering him to baby-sit, but most of all, he cursed his miko, for getting him into this situation.

"Suboshi! Be quiet!" the said miko hissed angrily and slapped a dirty hand over his mouth.

What did he do to ever deserve this? The young seishi cried out in his head. Did he commit some horrible crime in his past life, and this was his punishment? The small hand that covered his mouth smelt like dung… which was not surprising, since they were hiding in a barn, in a stall, behind a donkey. Funny, he never noticed how donkey looked the same as a horse from his position under the donkey's legs. But then again… when was he ever forced to hid under a donkey? 

It was all HER fault! Suboshi glared at the deceptively innocent blonde girl, who shoved his head down further into the smelly straws as another group of male voices passed.

Why did Nakago have to pick him out of all the seishi? Suboshi kept complaining in his mind. Surely Tomo or Soi would be able to keep the enthusiastic bunny from getting into trouble. Even his aniki would be better … maybe not. Their crafty miko would surely take advantage of Amiboshi's sweet nature just like she did to him, the young man thought ruefully to himself. It wasn't his fault, it was impossible to refuse when the bunny was looking at him with those huge tear filled eyes. Little did he know what it was a trick, the second he agreed to her outrageous plan, those shimmering tears disappeared instantly, revealing the calculated glitter from her sapphire depth.

He had a bad feeling about their outing form the beginning. But never in his wildest dreams did he know that their trip to the market would turn into such a nightmare. Nakago would have his head for sure this time, Suboshi thought fearfully as he looked up at his miko, whose golden mane was matted down with precipitation, and her face was streaked with dirt, not to mention that they both smelt terrible.

"Why are you staring at me?"

The seishi blushed and quickly lowered his eyes. Even though she was in this state, he couldn't help but admire the playful glow and vibrant energy that she radiated.

"There they are! Get them!"

Unfortunately, their pursuers also heard the blonde girl. How did they get into this mess in the first place? Suboshi didn't have time to answer his own question, before he was dragged out by his miko again, the group of rogues hot on their trail. It seemed like ever since they left the palace, he had done nothing except to be dragged around.

~*~*~*~

"Suboshi! Hurry up!"

The young seishi sighed again, as his miko waved from a stand. Where did she find all this energy? Suboshi murmured under his breath as he blindly put one foot in front of another.

"Watch where you are going young man!" a cane came down on the poor seishi's head as he accidentally stepped on a little old lady. 

It wasn't his fault that he couldn't see anything! The boxes he carried were way over his head. His arms were ready to fall off anytime, and to think, Usagi still wanted to buy more. She told him that she wouldn't go back, until she spent all the money Nakago gave her. But did she even know that the gold in the purse Nakago gave her, was enough to feed a whole village of people for a whole year?

And, it wasn't as if she was buying things for herself. Up to now, every single thing the miko purchased was for the blond shogun. And now, she was standing next to a stand, holding a pair of boots, bargaining back and forth with the seller. It still amazed Suboshi at his miko's negotiating skills. She was as good as any money lenders, if not better. But where did she learn this skill? As the Seiryuu no miko, she has unlimited wealth at her disposal. Oh well, the seishi shrugged, she must have had a lot of practice in her world.

"Ne, Suboshi-kun! Which pair do you think will look better on Nii-chan?" Usagi asked, holding up a blue pair and a black pair of boots.

That was another mystery to him. Why did the miko insist on calling Nakago Nii-chan? Sure they resemble each other a lot, but wasn't the miko from a different world?

"I'll take the blue ones, they match his armor," the blonde answered for herself when Suboshi didn't speak.

Taking the box containing her newest purchase, the bunny was about to add it to the pile in Suboshi's arms, when she saw his devastated expression.

Deciding to take pity on her seishi… or was it slave? Usagi took some of the packages herself. "Let's go find a place to eat Su-chan. I'm starving!"

"Su…Su-chan?" the seishi almost dropped his boxes when he heard the nick name, which wouldn't have been a good idea.

"Hai!" the bunny giggled and she silently commented to herself on how cute Su-chan was when he blushed. "We have to replenish our energy first. How else do you think we can continue to do some more night shopping?"

"Night… shopping?" All the relief he got from the idea of eating quickly vanished, as he Suboshi wondered how long he could survive serving this miko.

~*~*~*~

"Let's see… I want ten steamed dumplings, one roast duck, two bowls of hot and sour soup, five bowls of rice, and two of your best vegetable dishes."

"Will that be all Miss?" the waiter asked.

"What do you want Su-chan?" Usagi turned to her seishi.

"What do I want?" Suboshi asked confused. "Usagi-sama…san… chan, didn't you just order for me?"

"That was only for me silly," the bunny snickered as both the waiter and the seishi blinked in shock.

"I'll just have a bowl of noodles…" the young man finally murmured. His miko just kept throwing surprises at him… where did she pack away all those food?

"And I want a bottle of the best sake you have," the miko called out to the waiter before he disappeared into the kitchen.

Sipping her warm alcohol, Usagi had a content smile on her face. Everything seemed so perfect. She had her nii-chan, and even though she didn't have her memories, it didn't bother her at all, knowing that whatever happens, all that mattered was that she was back by Nakago's side.

"Excuse me young lady, do you want your fortune to be told?" A voice broke through the bunny's thoughts.

"Hun?" the blonde girl blinked intelligently at the old man, dressed in a Taoist clothes. "Oh sure…"

The old gentleman grabbed one of the miko's hands, caressing the soft skin before examining it carefully. "Young lady, you better be careful…"

"Why's that?" Suboshi asked in mid-bite, tensing. 

"Because you are going to lose your purse today."

Usagi gave the fortune teller a strange look… what kind of fortune was that? But none the less, she paid for the fee, and went back to her feast as the Taoist walked around the room, telling fortunes to others who were interested.

~*~*~*~

"That will be one gold piece please," the waiter smiled as a loud burp sounded from the girl. It was more than the actual price of the meal, but then again, it wasn't everyday when people this rich came here to eat. He had to take advantage of those who do come.

"Only one gold piece? Sure thing!" Usagi said, reaching into her pocket for her purse. Her face immediately darkened as it came out empty.

"Usagi-sama…chan, what's wrong?"

"I can't find my purse!" The bunny cried jumping up. She searched every pocket and all the boxes, but it was no where to be found.

The waiter looked uneasily at the two young people before moving to block the door. Would the two kids be the kind to eat and run?

"I had it a minute ago!" the blonde panicked.

"Calm down for a second Usagi-chan! Do you remember when you took it out last?" the seishi tried to push his miko down into her seat. With all the noises that she was making, they had the attention of almost all the patrons in the restaurant, and frankly, Suboshi didn't like the leering looks directed at Usagi at all.

"It was here! We were sitting here eating, and then…" the bunny blinked. "And then I used it to pay for the fortune teller!"

"He said that you are going to lose your purse today too. So he must have been the one who stole it!" Suboshi finished for Usagi. Already scanning the room for the thief. It wasn't very hard to find the fortune teller, considering the man was sitting with a bunch of other men drinking and waving around a bag that suspiciously looked like Usagi's purse.

Before he could stop her, Usagi had already left the table and was stomping across the restaurant, bringing everyone's eyes with her.

The miko stopped by the fortune teller, glaring down at his smirking face. "Give it back."

"Not my fault little lady. I warned you that you would lose your purse today if you weren't careful. You can't blame me, since I warned you in advance," the man smirked, and his buddies around the table started laughing. "But if you want it back, I'm sure that we can always find a way for you to earn it back…"

Face red with anger, words failed her as all the men cheered. Suboshi groaned to himself. Even though he hadn't know Usagi for long, it wasn't hard to tell that she was on the edge of blowing up. And as he predicted, her hand was already gripping the handle of her sword, knuckles white. He had to stop her now… it's true that if Nakago taught her how to fight, then she would be safe… but still with a whole room of gang members, no matter how good she was, the odds were against her.

The Seiryuu seishi quickly put down his noodles, and moved closer to his miko. His ryuuseisui already out and ready. As soon as he moved up to Usagi, men around the room stopped eating, and surrounded the two young people. The light reflected against the bare metals of knives and swords. The owner of the restaurant was hiding under a table while trying to persuade the everyone to stop fighting, or at least take their arguments outside.

"I'm not kidding, give me back my purse, or else, I'm make sure that no one will recognize your ugly face ever again!" the blonde girl threatened, drawing out her new sword. "Not that anyone can stand your face right now…"

"Why you little twit!" the fake fortune teller growled out deep in his throat. "When I catch you, I'll sell you and your little friend to the first brothel that I see!

"Get them!" At the command, a wave of gang members fell upon Usagi and Suboshi.

"Please, don't destroy anything here!" the owner of the restaurant pleaded, but it was unheard over the ding of the swords as everyone piled over the two young people.

But when the dust cleared, and everyone got up, to the shock of all that were present, the blonde girl and her companion were no where in sight!

Cursing, the leader of the gang, who appeared to be the fake fortune teller forced everyone to get up, and the gang rushed out, searching for their two preys.

~*~*~*~

"Su-chan! Let me go!" a blonde girl screamed and kicked wildly from her position on the seishi's shoulder as the young seishi jumped across the roof tops. "Suboshi! I swear, if you don't put me down this minute, I'll tell nii-chan!"

Sighing, the short haired boy stopped and put the girl on the roof. It wasn't as if he liked to carry her, she might look small, but she weighed a ton. But his duty came before his own personal needs, and right now, he had to bring his miko back to the palace before she could get into more trouble. "Usagi-chan, we have to go back. It's not safe for you to fight with these people."

The bunny brushed away his advice. "Su-chan don't be a chicken. You're a Seiryuu seishi for god's sake, don't tell me that you are afraid of these puny little men! Plus, I still want to try my new sword on them, and we left everything back at the restaurant! Let me go back, I just want one fight, then I'll let you take me back!" 

Suboshi cursed as he was suddenly attacked by the baby blue eyes which looked up at him so sadly. To add to the affect of the broken hearted girl, a little sob escaped the miko's trembling pink lips. "Su-chan… you're so mean!" 

He was really in trouble now, the young man thought as the water works began. How could he explain this to Nakago now? He couldn't possibly bring Usagi back now, the tear stains would be all too obvious that the miko was hurt, and he would be the prime suspect, and the most convenient person for Nakago to take out his anger on. "How about we just go back to get the stuff?"

Like magic, the tears suddenly all disappeared, and Suboshi suddenly found a happy, hyper bunny bouncing around him. But unfortunately, the display of happiness also caught the attention of the gang members who were looking for them.

"There they are! Someone go get a ladder!" Shouts sounded below the roof of the house where Suboshi was with his miko.

"No need to get a ladder! Here I come!" Usagi said, eagerly jumping down. The young seishi groaned… why did the miko want to get into a fight so bad? By Seiryuu, why couldn't see just be like every other girl, and behave properly? Not having any choices left, Suboshi had to jump down to and be ready to save the bunny when the time came…

~*~*~*~

Which brought him back to the present situation as Suboshi was dragged out of the barn behind Usagi. He had to admit that for a girl, his miko was kicking ass. But in the end, they had still lost, but it wasn't their fault though! How were they to know that the gang planed a trap? And they just had to fell for it too. 

"Stop running away! You have no where to go!" 

The blonde miko stopped running when men surrounded them from everywhere. "Come on Suboshi, let's teach them a lesson! How dare they mess with the Seiryuu no miko and her seishi!"

"Seiryuu no miko? This little girl?! You have got to be kidding me!" Loud laugher rang from the gangsters.

"Why you ignorant jerks! How dare you call me a little girl!" Usagi cried out in anger, and if it wasn't for Suboshi who got a good hold on her, she would have blindly slashed out at the gangsters. "Su-chan! What are you doing? Let me go!"

"What's wrong little miko? Are you afraid of getting hurt?" the men started to taunt the blonde.

But before the words were barely out of their mouths, a flash of lightening appeared in the darkened sky. 

"I won't let you insult the Seiryuu no miko like this," the new comer said as another bolt of lightening struck, on this time, the target was the fake fortune teller.

"Who's that?" Usagi asked, as the new comer jumped down in front of her and Suboshi.

"Soi!" The younger seishi in blinked in surprise as the older woman took care of their pursuers in no time.

"Soi?"

When the last of the gangsters fell down to the ground charred, the red haired seishi turned and dropped to one knee in front of Usagi. "Usagi-sama, I am the Seiryuu seishi Soi."

"You are also one of my seishi? But I thought that all seishi had to be male." the bunny asked as she stared at the woman in front of her. "And you are so beautiful too!"

"I see that you take after your onii-sama, always so clever with words," Soi laughed softly and patted the blonde's head.

"You know my onii-chan?" the bunny blinked. "Did he send you here?"

"He knew that Suboshi wouldn't be able to handle you, so he sent me to look after you to in secret," Soi answered, before she turned to an embarrassed Suboshi. "I see that you still have a lot to learn Suboshi, before you can become a real seishi. Because of you, Usagi-sama was almost hurt. I have to report to Nakago-sama about this."

"Soi, please don't blame Su-chan! It was my fault for making him fight those men with me. He had nothing to do with it." 

Suboshi looked up in surprise when he heard the blonde girl pleading for him. "Demo… Usagi-chan, it was my fault for not protecting you better…"

"Don't tell nii-chan about this Soi, I'll never pick a fight ever again, I promise, please?" the bunny begged, using her tricks again. "I'll tell nii-chan that you are the nicest person in the whole country."

Soi blushed when the miko hit her weak spot. "You'll tell him that?"

"Of course I will, but you have to promise not to tell on Su-chan first."

The older woman hesitated, she shouldn't be keeping secrets from Nakago-sama, but the miko made such a tempting deal… It wouldn't hurt to tell a little white lie once in a while. "You got a deal. But next time, if you get into any trouble, then I'll have to tell him about it, okay?"

"Okay! Thank you so much Soi!" Usagi cried out, hugging the older woman. They would make a great team, between the two of them, Nakago would surely turn to putty in their hands. "Let's go back."

~*~*~*~

To everyone's surprise, Nakago didn't seem to notice when his long lost imouto came back all dirty and smelly. On the contrary, all he did was pat her head and gave her a absent minded kiss on the cheek before he told her to go and clean up with Suboshi. 

Secretly smug that she didn't get into any trouble, Usagi quickly dragged a blushing Suboshi towards the baths, leaving Soi to deal with Nakago, if he ever remembered to question their trip.

~*~*~*~

"Usagi-chan? Can I ask you something?" Suboshi asked from the other side of the screen. The sound of splashing water was heard as the bunny played around the bath… which was more like a small swimming pool complete with floating flower petals and scented candles.

"Sure what is it? Are you sure that you don't want to take a bath with me?"

The seishi blushed at that thought, before he stuttered. "I…It's okay Usagi-chan... I'll just clean up after you are done."

"What did you want to ask me about?"

"Well…" the young man hesitated. "Why do you always call Nakago-sama 'nii-chan'?"

"Because he's my brother silly." 

"I know that but… how isn't possible, I mean you are the miko. So you must be from another world. And Nakago-sama is from this world.."

"It's a little complicated to explain Su-chan, and I don't really want to talk about it right now." Usagi's tone suddenly changed from playful to serious.

"I'm sorry." the seishi apologized.

"It's okay. I'm done now."

Closing his eyes, Suboshi opened a large towel, and wrapped it around the miko when she stepped out.

"Usagi-sama," a servant girl bowed. "Nakago-sama requires yours and Suboshi-sama's presence right now at his chambers.

Sharing a nervous look, the bunny hastily went to get dressed in a clean blue robe. "Ne, Su-chan, do you think that Soi told nii-chan about what happened in the market?"

"I don't think so, Soi isn't that kind of person. And plus, he was looking a little troubled when we got back."

"I'm ready now…"

Suboshi wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him when his miko walked out. The dim lantern light softly highlighted each strand of the wet blond hair that fell straight down her back. The bath had given her a rosy hue on her cheeks, she looked more like a tennyo than a mortal girl.

"Yeah… let's go…" Closing his mouth, which he didn't know was open, he unconsciously took hold of the miko's hand and guided her through the halls to Nakago's chambers.

~*~*~*~

"Konan has declared war against Kutou. The emperor has already ordered me to ride to the border tomorrow." Nakago said as he paced around in the room. "I don't know why all of a sudden Konan would make war…. Usagi-sama, I wish for you to come to the battle field with the army."

"Me?" the bunny squeaked out, when her nii-chan suddenly turned piercing blue eyes in her direction.

"Yes… it'll give the soldiers more courage and hope if they see their miko fighting along side of them. Do you wish to go?"

Looking around the room, everyone's eyes were turned to her. "If it can help, then I'll go."

"Good. Soi, you and Suboshi will accompany Usagi-sama also, to protect her just in case something goes wrong. Is that understood?"

"Hai Nakago-sama. We will protect the miko with our lives!" the two seishi kneeling.

Tbc…

AN: More Hoto/Usa moments next chapter I swear upon my kitty ^_^


	5. Capture and Escape

AN: I want to apologize again for the delay on this fic ^^;; But it wasn't really my fault, since I broke my finger. And believe me, it wasn't done intentionally… after all, you don't know the amount of pain and frustration I had to go through writing exams with a broken finger, and on top of that, starting to play volleyball again the week after I broke the finger. But on the bright side, I learnt how to spike with my left hand, and know how to spike with my right without breaking anything. Be prepared for a LONG chapter ^_^ Anyways… enough with my senseless chattering, this chapter, along with the next seventeen chapters will each be dedicated one of the people who responded to my notice ^_^

Dedication: To Mingming-chan *hugs* What will I do without you? You're always there, every time I turn on the computer ^_^ Not a bad thing trust me ^^;; I can talk to you about everything, and you always listen so patiently to my ramblings. Thank you so much for being there, and this is the first bribe, don't forget ^_^ 

Thanks to : **Megami** ( Thank you for all those reviews ^____^ But since I'm so lazy, I'm just going to reply in one message. Wai!! I'm really happy that you like my story enough to review four times ^^; I always have a title for my fics… they don't feel right without one. And your reviews are cut short because of . faces. For some reason, FF.net cut off after the bracket), **Ami** (thanks ^_^, and yeah, a Hoto/Usa fic), **Ashlee** **Campell**, **Blue Moon **(thank you! Say hi to Karuma-chan for me too ^_^), **Odangoed one**, **Bunnicula03** (Well, in the series, they did show a part where Nakago was only about 10, lying naked in the Emperor's chamber. And one of the concubines commented that Nakago was a very pretty toy. You haven't seen the series? O.o), **Lilyusagi-san**, **Dream Blaze** (*hug* Thank you so much for caring. I feel much better now ^_^ But aren't you satisfied? I already have two Nakago/Usagi fics), **Ivory-chan **(*hides in den* I swear Ivory-chan! This time isn't my fault. I broke my finger, so I couldn't type anything ^^;; But here's the Hoto/Usa moments that you wanted ^_~), **Bunni V **(you're forgiven ^_~), MoonGodess444 (sorry... But this is going to remain a Hoto/Usa story), **Akiko-chan** (I love you too ^_~ Did I tell you that I'm going to have some special plans with your favourite carrot top?), **Mistress 90**, **Tenshi no Nozomi **(You can always believe me when I swear upon my kitty ^^;;), **Akizuki Nauru **(*pouts* I thought I was -chan ^_~), **Bunny Winner **(Thank you for leaving the response. I was so sweet of you ^_^), **Bluejello** (someone cares about me!), **themoonmaiden** ( you don't know how lucky I feel to have a great fan like you ^_^ Nope, no Suzaku no miko. There's only Usagi ^_~), **Mingming** ( ^^;; I didn't notice that you died on me… after all, we chat like everyday almost ^_~), **JLSCORPIO78**, **Gakkuri** **Naishinnou** ( Sorry that the chapter was late, but yeah the finger excuse again ^^;; Chat with you later ^_~), and **SweetKawaiiAngel**

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Chapter 4

It was truly an impressive sight. The young emperor thought to himself as he surveyed his army in pride. It has been at least a hundred years since Konan had voluntarily declared war against another country. But that didn't mean that his soldiers forgot how to fight. On the contrary, every man who were present on the battlefield, stood tall and proud from long years of training and strict discipline. Their armour and red uniform shinned under the sun, giving the illusion of a calm fire read to dance into life anytime.

"Your Majesty?"

The young emperor clothed in a brilliant red cloak turned towards his companion, who like him, was also a Suzaku seishi.

"The Kutou army is approaching sire," Chichiri said, even though they still couldn't see anything across the bare plane.

"And…" Saihitei hesitated, biting back the question that he desperately wanted to ask.

"She's with them Your Majesty," the blue haired monk smiled as the emperor let out the breath that he has been holding unconsciously.

Finally, after eighteen years of longing, he would be able to meet her face to face. He had to force himself from laughing out loud in sheer happiness, it surely would scare his soldiers to see their emperor loosing it at such a crucial time. "How can you tell Chichiri? I still can't sense anything, especially if she's the Seiryuu no miko right now, as the reports claimed."

"I didn't sense her ki, no da. For some reason, her ki is masked, and that it doesn't feel like the normal ki of a human. But I can feel the ki of three of the Seiryuu seishi. Kutou wouldn't send three of their celestial warriors just to fight in a battle, unless it was to protect someone or something very important, no da," the monk explained.

"Let's just hope for your sake that it's true. If she's not here, then you'll have to go all the way to Kutou's capital while I distract them here," the silver haired emperor answered jokingly while scanning the empty horizon excitedly again. "That reminds me Chichiri, if you can sense the kis of the Seiryuu seishi, won't they be able to sense us too?"

The cheerful mask dropped its cheerful grin as the blue haired seishi pondered seriously. "I did detect a very powerful force from one of the Seiryuu seishi," What the monk didn't reveal was that even if he combined his power with that of the emperor, they still wouldn't be enough to defeat this Seiryuu seishi. But he didn't say anything to the his fellow Suzaku seishi, knowing how much the miko meant to the emperor, not only for protecting Konan, but also for his own personal reasons.

~*~*~*~

"Nii-chan!" the blonde girl whined out squirming on her horse. "Are we there yet?"

"Why are you so eager for the battle imouto?" Nakago chuckled turning to see his miko half standing, half sitting on her horse. Not that he blamed her, for someone who wasn't accustomed to horse back, sitting on a horse for a whole day was pure torture.

"Because all I want to do is get this thing over with so I'll be able to walk on solid ground again!"

He couldn't help but laugh out loud at the annoyed declaration accompanied by a little pout on the bunny's face. Soi and Suboshi stared at him in shock. It was the first time they have seen Nakago laugh so carefree before. Normally, the shogun only laughed in battle or when he held the life of an enemy in his hands. And even then, the sound of that cruel laughter was enough to haunt its victims to hell.

"Consider yourself lucky to have a horse to ride on Usagi-sama. There are thousands of soldiers behind you who has to walk from the capital to the border."

A pensive expression appeared on her face before Usagi stopped her horse.

"Usagi-sama, what are you doing?" Suboshi asked in confusion. Nakago's decision still baffled him. Why did the older seishi choose him instead of his aniki? Surely Amiboshi was far more skilled, not to mention more experienced in battle.

I'm going to walk for a while," the bunny winked at her companion before jumping down from her chestnut stallion.

"Usagi-sama, this isn't the time for your games. Please get back on your horse," Soi called out to the miko, before she could get away.

"But Nii-chan," the bunny whined, looking at Nakago pleadingly. "Everyone is walking, as their miko, the least I can do is walk with them for a little while, and cheer them up. It must be so boring walking this long and not be able to talk to anyone. Please?"

"It's okay Soi," the blond seishi held up a hand to stop the red haired woman before she could object. "Just make sure that you come back here before we reach the Konan army. And take Suboshi with you, and be careful okay?"

"Thank you Nii-chan!" Usagi bounced up happily to give the shogun a quick peck on the cheek for gratitude, before dragging a groaning Suboshi off of his horse and back towards the body of the army. Poor Suboshi, just because his energetic miko didn't like her horse, that didn't mean that he didn't mind being forced to walk all the way to Konan.

An amused little smirk tugged at his lips as Nakago watched a blonde blur skipping next to the soldiers, trailed by a less than happy Suboshi.

"You've changed," Soi observed quietly from beside him.

"How so?"

"You smile more now ever since Usagi-sama showed up, and they are happy smiles, not like the way you used smirk at others."

That's because I can't deny her anything, even my own happiness. He thought quietly to himself before spurring his horse ahead.

Behind him, the sound of a clear sweet voice floated to his ears, singing a new song, blended with the voices of soldiers laughing and singing along.

~*~*~*~

The sound of drums could be heard from both sides as the leaders of the two respective armies rode to the middle of the battle field followed by their soldiers. It was like the clash of water and fire, as men dressed in red and blue mixed on the field, that was slowly stained with red. Two figures stood out proudly from the rest of the fighting mass, one in a red cloak, the other in a blue cloak. Even though the two were fighting on different sides, their thoughts were on the same person.

The two men circled each other slowly on their horses, carefully judging each other's skills.

"Saihitei, Emperor of Konan I suppose?" Nakago smirked mockingly and nodded to the leader of his enemy kingdom.

"No," the young man in red replied, looking over the Seiryuu seishi's shoulder at the other blonde head, who was sitting rather impatiently on her horse. "Right now, I'm just Hotohori, another seishi like yourself."

A harsh laugh came from the Kutou general. "Like me? You must be more naïve than I thought. Unlike you Suzaku seishi," Nakago drawled out lazily, "I have a miko to serve."

"Not for long if I have any say in it. This isn't a come first serve type of thing. I don't know what kind of lies your emperor fed her to make her agree to be the Seiryuu no Miko." the silver haired man replied heatedly, sparing another glance at the golden head in the midst of the Kutou army. "But I swear that I'll get her out of your control!"

An amused smirk appeared on Nakago's face as he listened to the Emperor of Konan. "Let me ask you this. What makes you think that I forced Usagi-sama into becoming the Seiryuu no miko?"

Usagi… the name was gently repeated in his head. So that was her name. How adorable. A warm smile unconsciously spread on his face, as the young Suzaku seishi momentarily forgot that he was in the middle of a battle.

A surprised Nakago stared at the enemy emperor silently as the silver haired man didn't respond to his jab. Instead, Saihitei seemed to be daydreaming. Idiot. Didn't the stupid boy realize how easily it was for him to be attacked like this? Maybe he was giving the boy too much credit, the Emperor of Konan didn't seem to be much of a threat after all. But still, it puzzled the blond man a little to see the sudden change in the Suzaku seishi. It was when he said … a smirk appeared on Nakago's face. So that was it.

~*~*~*~

Across the battle field, amidst the safety of the rest of the Kutou army, a blonde head peeked out above the thousands of helmets.

"Su-chan! Stand still!" the Seiryuu no miko complained, giving a little stump on the shoulders that she was standing on.

"Usagi-chan, why can't you sit on your horse?" the young man panted out, wiping the beads of sweat on his brow. His whole body was shaking under the weight of his miko, who after whining that she couldn't see Nakago, 'insisted' Suboshi to help her. 

Help my ass. the sandy haired seishi complained, his definition of help didn't include being treated as a ladder. And as if Usagi wasn't heavy enough, try to imagine how much she would weigh in armour. True, the few pieces of metal was just for decoration, since the miko wasn't going to fight, but gold and silver weren't exactly the lightest metals on Earth.

"What are they doing?!"

Suboshi winced as Usagi moved on his shoulders, almost making him loose his balance and fall onto the ground.

"Is something wrong Usagi-chan?"

"I can see Nii-chan. He's with an enemy. But they aren't fighting. They're just sitting there, talking on their horses!"

"At lease he isn't blasting the poor soldier to ashes," Suboshi mutter under his breath, shuddering as he remembered the last time Nakago decided to take out his anger on a poor soul.

"What did you say?" the bunny didn't seem to hear him since her attention was glued to the tall blond man on the battlefield.

"Nothing. How's Soi doing?" the younger seishi still couldn't forgive the red head for abandoning him to baby-sit again. Just when he thought that he could finally be able to prove his skills to the older seishi, it was cheated of him yet again. It wasn't as if there weren't enough soldiers protecting their miko. More that half of their forces were still in reserves, watching their comrades in battle. Suboshi was sure that it was more than enough for fifty thousand men to look after one little bunny, so why did he have stay again?

"She's doing pretty good. No injuries," Usagi answered, before she jumped off of her companion's shoulders. "This is so unfair!" the miko complained out of the blue.

Damn right it is. the young man agreed quietly as he rubbed his sore shoulders.

"Why does Nii-chan and Soi-chan get to have all the fun, while I'm stuck here with you?"

Well at least the feeling is mutual, the seishi shot back in his head. But he didn't dare to say it out loud. "It's for your own safety Usagi-chan." He tried to calm down the annoyed blonde. But in reality, why did he even bother trying? He learned long ago that when the blonde was in one of her moods, nothing could persuade her otherwise.

"I'm going down," the bunny announced casually, and before Suboshi could process what was going on, the miko had already jumped onto her horse, and was rushing into the thickest fighting area, sword drawn out, looking like an angel of war.

Cursing wildly, the young man grabbed the reins of his own horse and chased after his miko. Damn, if Nakago found out about this… Maybe if he got to the bunny fast enough, he could still be able to get her back. Even if he would have to tie her up with his ryuuseisui and haul her across his shoulders.

But if only things were that simple… In the sea of fighting bodies, it only took a few seconds for the miko to be totally swallowed up in the deafening cacophony of clashing metals. Even the brightest armour would be stained with blood and sweat, either that of your own, or of your enemy's. There was no sign of the rabbit.

~*~*~*~

Adrenaline rushed through her veins as anther opponent fell down at her feet. Who knew that fighting could be so exhilarating? The moment she jumped into the battle, she was immediately swarmed by enemies everywhere. Now the Konan soldiers all backed away as the fresh blood dripped down from her sword.

Usagi grinned. They thought that just because she was a girl, she was an easy target. How stupid of them to judge a book by its cover. A devilish smirk appeared on her face as she lunged at her next prey, who fell with a single slash across the chest. The new blood sprayed on her armour, adding more of the sticky crimson liquid to the already drying brown crust.

Stepping over the bodies… they weren't dead. She would never kill, they were just unconscious from the lack of blood. She made sure that none of the cuts were deep enough to be fatal. But that didn't stop her from enjoying the excitement that she was experiencing for the first time as she defeated man after man with the confidence of a master swordsman. If there was a mirror in front of her, she would've seen that the expression on her face was exactly the same as that of Nakago's.

Silently, the blonde girl looked at the man in front of her as she pushed back her long hair away from her face. Her helmet had been knocked down a long time ago, by an arrow that was meant to take her out.

This one looked different from the rest of the Konan soldiers. For one thing, he wasn't wearing any armour, and by the look of his clean neat clothes, he appeared to be a monk. A monk with an annoying little smile that seemed to be pasted onto his face.

"I'll be your next opponent, no da," the blue haired man said cheerfully as if he was just discussing how beautiful the weather was.

The miko gave a silent nod, and carefully seized up her new opponent, who stood with the same cheerful smile. This man didn't seem so dangerous at all, but she knew better than to jump to conclusions.

Without giving any warnings like her previous fights, she lunged at the monk with the silence and speed of a panther, hoping to catch him in surprise.

But that was not the case. Her attack was easily blocked with a long metal staff that just suddenly appeared in the blue haired man's hand, like magic. Keeping her surprise and frustration carefully masked, Usagi continued to exchange blows with the monk tirelessly.

They were equally matched, or almost. The sun was hanging low in the fiery sky, and the two fighters still haven't made any injuries on the other. A fact that irritated the Seiryuu no miko to no end. They've been fighting for what seemed to be hours. While she was tired to the bone, and was being roasted alive in her armour, the mysterious monk still looked as fresh as he did at the beginning of their fight. And it also didn't escape her notice that he was only fighting half heartedly, as if he was playing with a child.

"It's almost sun down, no da," the monk commented lightly as he blocked a swing to his head. "Why don't you go back and rest, and we'll fight again tomorrow, no da?"

Usagi stopped a moment in surprise, leaning heavily on her sword panting. Her eyes hardened when she heard the proposal. Go back and rest? Was she so weak that even an enemy was beginning to take pity on her? Why can't you do anything right?, Don't you dare come home with that kind of grade!, You are too weak Sailormoon! She dropped her sword and clutched her head in pain as familiar voices taunted her in her mind. Was this part of her past? Was she really as weak and pathetic? She would prove to them, that she was stronger than them all!

"We are going to finish this now," the blonde said in a commanding tone, looking up to see a concerned expression in her enemy's eyes. This only served to fuel her anger even more. She was not going to give up.

Not answering, the monk turned and began to walk away.

Usagi quickly located her horse and grabbed the reins just as the blue haired man began to run. She could faintly hear someone calling her name in the background. It was probably Suboshi, but she was too occupied to care as she started to chase after the monk.

Funny, was it only her, or did it seem that the blue haired monk was able to run faster on his own legs than her horse? She has been chasing after the man for almost half an hour. They left the battlefield long ago, and was now in a forest. No matter what, the man always seemed to be a few steps in front of her. When the distance separating them became larger, he would actually slow down and wait for her to catch up.

Usagi grinned smugly to herself as she saw where they were heading. A cliff. Her prey was cornered, this time, they would settle this once and for all.

So concentrated was she in her thoughts of winning, that she didn't even notice the changes in the surroundings until it was too late. As she approached the blue haired monk, she didn't hear the rustling noises in the trees above her. If she did, she would've probably noticed the two men that jumped down with a net in between them, neatly catching the Seiryuu no miko in their trap.

"What the hell?!" Usagi swore loudly as the hard landing onto the ground from her horse made her a little disoriented. But it didn't take her long to notice that she was ensnarled in a web of fine silk threads. "How dare you swing this low, you fake monk!"

"Fake monk, no da?" the blue haired man blinked and pointed to himself. "Why am I fake no da?"

"Of course you're fake! Monks are suppose to be nice, gentle, and HONOURABLE! You're none of those things if you pull such a dirty trick on a girl, you have to be fake under that mask of yours!" the bunny accused angrily.

"So, you can tell," the Suzaku seishi replied gently, before removing his mask and staring down at the empty smile. "I'm sorry about my actions, but I have to do this. Forgive me."

A strange incantation was quietly uttered by the monk, and the last thing Usagi thought before she drifted to sleep was on how worried her Nii-chan would be.

~*~*~*~

"She's what?!" Soi cried out staring at Suboshi in shock. The moment she saw the younger seishi waiting for her in front of their camp, she knew that something must've happened. And judging by the paleness of Suboshi's face, it could only mean something bad.

"She… she said that it was unfair that she had to watch while the others fought… so…" the young man stuttered, shaking under Soi's glare. "So she rode into the battlefield before I could stop her. I tried to look for her… but all I saw was when she chased a blue haired monk into the forest behind the Konan army. I was about to follow her, but I couldn't because a group of Konan soldiers stopped me."

This was bad. The red head thought to herself running a hand through her tangled hair. How was she suppose to tell Nakago now? The shogun entrusted his most important person to her, and now how could she face him and break the news that his long lost imouto was gone, lost somewhere in the enemy's country?

Faint flashes of lightening sizzled in the air around her. Suboshi flinched slightly and backed away, thinking that he would be punished for the disappearance of their miko. Poor boy. Soi thought looking down at the younger seishi in pity. He was covered from head to toe with grim and blood, not to mention the bruises and cuts. It was obvious that he was miserable and scared of the consequences. She couldn't really blame him for what happened, since she knew as well how whimsical Usagi could be at times. And Suboshi had already suffered enough just on his own. "I guess there's nothing that we could do except to tell Nakago-sama."

At the mention of the shogun's name, the young man became even more paler.

"He's still at the battlefield, taking care of the causalities, but he should be back soon," Soi informed Suboshi gently. "Go back and rest. I'll take care of the rest."

He was about to object before she stopped him in a commanding tone. "Go rest, so you'll have strength to rescue Usagi-sama and correct your mistakes."

After the young man left to clean up, Soi paced around in the dark nervously, waiting for the blond man to return. Part of her wanted him to return, so she could get it over with, but the other part of her dreaded the consequences. After what seemed to be forever, faint sounds of horse hoofs reached her ears, and she could see the dark shadows in the night.

Soi waited for all the foot soldiers to pass before she made her way to Nakago's horse, taking his helmet and cloak. It was a mystery to her how he could always remain so dashing and fresh no matter how hard or long he fought. For a moment, she forgot about the problems, as she stared at his handsome profile, outlined by the moonbeams.

"Let's go back to the tent Soi. Is there something you want to tell me about?" Nakago broke the peaceful moment, walking across the camp to their tent.

Dread filled her up like lead in her stomach. From the tone of his voice, it felt like he already suspected what had happened.

"Nakago-sama…" the red head hesitated, didn't know how to continue. She looked at the blond man helplessly.

"Go on, I won't punish you," he prompted in his usual cold voice.

"Usagi-sama left by herself to chase after an enemy. We think that she is in Konan right now, and we fear that the enemy may have taken her…"

The shogun didn't say anything, as he removed his armour and boots. "And what about Suboshi?"

"He went after Usagi-sama, but the Konan soldiers prevented him from saving her…" When Nakago didn't answer, Soi feared the worst for the younger seishi. "Please don't punish him Nakago-sama. He tired his best. The poor boy is beating himself up to death already."

"I didn't say anything about punishments, did I Soi?"

The red head stared at the shogun in surprise, not believe how easily they got off.

"I met the Konan emperor today on the battlefield. He hinted to me that something like this was going to happen. There was nothing that you or Suboshi could've done to prevent it from happening," Nakago said lightly.

"But what about Usagi-sama? What are they going to do with her?" Now that she knew Suboshi was safe and the miko's disappearance was all planned, the weight suddenly dropped.

"They won't do anything to harm her. She'll actually be safer with the Suzaku seishi than if she is with us," the blond man replied snickering.

"Suzaku seishi?!"

"The Konan emperor is actually one of the Suzaku seven. Since we found Usagi-sama already, our Suzaku counterparts are a little impatient to find their miko too. So they decided to steal ours instead, and make Usagi-sama into the Suzaku no miko," Nakago explained to the astonished Soi. "They would do anything to make sure that Usagi-sama will be safe, especially from Kutou and the Seiryuu seishi." He chuckled humourlessly.

"But wouldn't that make it even harder for us to rescue her? And what if they are able to persuade her to be the Suzaku no miko? And what are we going to tell the Emperor when he knows that we let the Seiryuu no miko get captured?" New worries rose with her new knowledge.

"I've thought about all those things Soi. We have all our seishi already, while the Konan empire has only found two. We have all the time in the world to get her back while they look for the rest of their members. I doubt if they can persuade her to be their miko. Usagi-sama's loyalties lie with us… with me. As for the emperor," the shogun frowned as he thought about the old fool. "I want you to check on Suboshi later. Tell him to send a message to Amiboshi. Tell him that I need to see Tomo and Amiboshi as soon as possible."

"I'll go see him right now. He will be very happy to know that you won't punish him for Usagi-sama's disappearance," Soi replied, before she left.

Alone in his tent again, a new plan began to take shape. It would be a great gamble. The outcome could either be disastrous, or they would be able to gain back everything that was taken away from them in the past.

~*~*~*~

The soldiers posted outside the tent cringed as another cry echoed in the night, followed by the sound of shattering glass. A few seconds later, the unfortunate man who brought dinner for their blonde captive scrambled out of the tent (serving as a prison), covered in rice and sporting a large bruise on his forehead.

The guards sighed. This was the thirteenth time that this happened. Every time someone went into the tent, he was immediately driven out by the blonde girl, and always with some new bruises or cuts. The two guards were extremely glad that their duty was only to watch out that she didn't try to escape. But truth to be told, they had no idea why their emperor chose to take this girl. Sure, with her rare golden hair and blue eyes, she rivalled their emperor in beauty… but her manners were just horrendous, completely not fit of the harem.

~*~*~*~

Usagi pouted and resumed her pacing in the tent. She glanced at the spoiled meal on the ground, regretting her thoughtless actions. If only she was clam enough to see that the last soldier brought food, then she wouldn't have flung the whole tray at his face. Her stomach growled in response, but it was too late to change that now. And she was certainly not going to ask her captors to bring more food. If only she could leave this miserable place. But every time she tried to even step near the tent flaps, a barrier stopped her from fleeing. No doubt it was created by that dishonourable and fake monk.

So deep was she in her internal ranting that she didn't even hear the tight tent cloth being cut open from behind her. The gentle whispers of the wind warned her of an intruder.

Swirling around, the bunny grabbed the nearest object, which was a chair and stood ready to fling it at the intruder. The newcomer stood frozen beside the large hole he made in the tent, staring at the Seiryuu no miko in surprise.

Holding up both of his hands in peace, he carefully approached the blonde, as to not alarm her. God knows that the last thing that he needed right now was to have a chair in the face to ruin his perfection.

Usagi watched cautiously as the stranger walked closer. He was wearing a long cloak that reached the floor, and a hood covered his head. Could it be? Maybe it was someone from Kutou sent to rescue her? "Who are you?"

Instead of answering, the stranger pushed back his hood, letting the moonlight shine on his long unbounded hair, and caress his beautiful face.

The miko couldn't help but stare. In her shock, she almost dropped the chair onto her own foot. Gorgeous. Was the only world in her mind as she continue to stare at the person in front of her. Was the persona a woman or a man? The stranger was too beautiful to be a man, but was too flat to be a woman.

"I'm here to help you," a sensual tenor voice brushed over Usagi's senses, melting her from inside out. The man smirked to himself as he saw the familiar effect he had on the girl. This was the first time he saw her so close. Not even the tennyos of the legends could compare with the beauty of this girl. Indeed, at first, he couldn't believe that she was mortal as she stood posed, silvery rays spilling down her slender figure, a goddess of light.

A man, oh lord, definitely male. The bunny thought gleefully to herself. But how could he be so beautiful? It almost seemed sinful to be so stunningly gorgeous when you are a male. Not that she had anything to complain about. "Who are you, and why are you helping me?"

The man looked a little startled. In his excitement to meet her, he didn't think that she could be so curious. But it was reasonable, she was in enemy territory after all. He winced at the last thought, would she think of him as an enemy too? "My name is Hotohori. Let's get out of here first, then I'll answer our questions. We don't have much time, since they are changing guards right now," he held out his hand.

The miko hesitated. "And how do you think that we'll be able to escape? I can't just walk my way out of here you know." She commented sarcastically.

Damn, he hadn't thought about that either. Obviously as the emperor, he could do whatever he wanted. But if she knew that he was the one who ordered her capture, then everything would be ruined. "Here, take this cloak," he winked and threw the heavy garment over her head, making sure that she couldn't see. "Don't make a sound okay?"

"I still don't know how you are going to get me out of here," Usagi blushed as her hand was held in Hotohori's and he led her across the tent to the hole he made.

"Magic," he replied teasingly, before the night air gently swayed the cloak.

Magic? The blonde girl thought cynically. Even though she was covered by his large cloak and couldn't see a thing, she could sense that they were walking in the wide open. It would be so easy to be spotted by the soldiers…

"Who's there?!"

Jinxed. There goes that great escape plan. They took like what? Five steps before getting caught? She groaned inside the cloak.

"Your Mag…" One of the soldiers who came to investigate immediately dropped to his knees before his emperor.

Hotohori quickly held up a finger to his lips, signalling for the soldiers to be quiet. He waved his men away an started to mumble a string of nonsense, as he lead Usagi out the Konan camp. All the soldiers stared wide eyed as their emperor walked out through the centre of the camp, leading the blonde captive covered in a cloak.

~*~*~*~

"That was close!" the bunny cried as she threw the cloak off. "I thought that we were going to be caught for sure!"

"I told you, as long as you're with me, you'll be safe," the young man smiled, brushing back strands of long silver hair.

"I still don't know how you got use out after they saw us."

"Magic," Hotohori teased when an adorable pout appeared on the blonde's face. "Did you hear me chanting?"

"Well, thank you for your help then. Do you know how to get to Kutou by any chance?" Usagi asked, getting up from the cool grass.

The young man became silent. "You can't go back there…"

An alarmed look crossed her face, as she backed away from the beautiful man. "You… You're not one of those… are you?"

Hotohori blinked in confusion, before he blushed. "No, no! Of course not! I would never take advantage of a young lady like that. It's just that when the Konan soldiers know that you escaped, the first place they'll look is the rout to Kutou. You'll easily get recaptured.

"Then… where am I suppose to go?"

"You can stay with me if you want. We can go to Konan together, those soldiers will never guess that you will stay in the enemy's country. After a while, when they give up looking for you, I'll take you back to Kutou, is that okay?"

Even though all she wanted to do was to see her Nii-chan right now, she had to grudgingly admit that he was right. "But what about your family? Won't they be worried if you are with me? And you know that I don't have any gold to repay you…" Indeed, all she had was the clothes she was wearing, the sword that her Nii-chan made for her was confiscated when the Konan soldiers captured her.

"It's okay. I don't have a family anyways. As for payment…" a sly sparkle shinned in his golden eyes. "first of all, for the price of rescuing you out of the Konan camp, tell me your name."

"Usagi. But, you mean that you're going to make me pay more?! What do you want from me anyways? Why save a stranger you've never met?"

"It's a secret," he grinned at her. "I'll tell you later."

Why was it that she felt the payment would be so much more than she could afford? "Where are we going?" She called out as her companion began to walk.

"Don't know. We'll just go wherever our feet take us," was the cheerful reply she got. The young emperor smiled… truly smiled for the first time. It was Chichiri who offered to take his place while he took the miko to search for the other missing Suzaku seishi. This was the first time that he was allowed to travel by himself. But instead of feeling lonely, his whole face was fining with happiness. Finally, his wish since childhood would be granted, with this beautiful girl, his miko. Turning around, he glanced at the blonde girl, a small frown marred his smooth brow.

This wouldn't do. Even though this was his first travelling experience, Chichiri had warned him about the dangers, especially for a young girl. And looking at Usagi now, her pastel blue silk torn and clinging to her body alluringly, no one in their right mind would be able to miss such a tempting maiden…

Usagi stopped in her tracks as she bumped into a strong chest. She didn't even notice when he stopped walking. The only thing that prevented her from falling onto her bum were his arms that drew her close to his body. The miko reddened at the closeness of their bodies, she could almost feel his heart, beating under her cheek.

"We have to find a change of clothes for you. You'll catch a cold, since the silk is way to thin," Hotohori lied, hiding his jealousy. Now that he had her, he didn't want to share her with the roaming eyes of those peasants. And her shivering provided the perfect excuse… not that he minded the silk, on the contrary, it allowed him to hold her close.

The miko nodded, reluctantly pulling away from Hotohori. She was slightly glad to step away from him, being so close was doing funny things to her heart. It was like drinking warm sake on a chilly winter night, except he was much headier than any sake… 

If he remembered correctly, there should be a stream off the road somewhere. He saw it on the map in the camp. They could change and stay the night there. And tomorrow, they could start travelling though this empire of his…

AN: Is this long enough for you guys? See, I always keep my promises, lots of Hoto/Usa moments in this chapter ^_^ I thought that I broke my finger again while I was typing. This was 19 pages long!


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